A game of two halves, with a gleaming remaster of Sonic Generations and an all-new, practically full-sized Shadow Generations portion, Sonic x Shadow Generations is a killer dose of the blue blur and his brooding counterpart, which still ranks among the best that Sonic's modern era has mustered in recent years.

A stupidly fun arcade racer that confounded our expectations, Onrush is the perfect game for those seeking something immediate, accessible and effortlessly entertaining.

Outlast II should have been everything that the first game wasn't. Instead, it's a bloated, overwrought, and incredibly frustrating survival horror game. Not terrible by any means, but not all that great either. Shame.

While Sonic Generations is far and away the best Sonic game in a long time, there are still enough niggles to put off new players who will not have the same love for the hedgehog and his blend of twitch reflexes and level memorisation. As a standalone title Sonic Generations is a fun, if short-lived, platformer that is great while it lasts, but will probably not captivate you in the same way its forebears did.

Like Max Payne and Alan Wake before it, Quantum Break has already left me desperate for a sequel. And with one or two loose threads left dangling tantalisingly, the way is certainly open for one. Quantum Break is another superlative Remedy game, combining story and gameplay to startling effect. I want to go back in time and play it afresh, all over again.

Fast, silly, disposable fun that excels at couch competition but falls short of our expectations for online play, #IDARB is nevertheless a brilliant laugh.

Life is Strange Episode 1: Chrysalis is an engaging and enjoyable first instalment in what promises to be a compelling adventure series. If subsequent episodes can live up to what Dontnod has started, we're in for a treat.

Games like No More Heroes III are remarkably rare. Brimming with ideas and genuinely humorous moments, this is something uniquely Grasshopper, uniquely Suda. Get on it as soon as humanly possible.

Another opportunity to eviscerate Nazis, Sniper Elite 5 is by no means perfect, but it is a wonderfully robust and consistently enjoyable sandbox shooter that's good, reliable fun. And, as if you need reminding, you can put a bullet through a Nazi's scrotum, which will never not be brilliant.

This is about as close to a slam dunk the series has been in recent years. NBA 2K25 delivers on the court where it counts, while bringing meaningful changes to the staple MyCareer and MyTeam modes, in particular. MyNBA Eras remains a major highlight, too, sure to please ardent NBA fans and nostalgics alike.

All in all, Liars and Cheats represents sound value for money, offering plenty of new and interesting stuff for the price, but some of the new game types might test your patience a bit.

With Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 still the bigger and arguably better game, you might wonder why MvC: Infinite exists at all. After extended play, the reason is clear. Fans of the MCU ought to get a kick out of it, while fight fans of all skill levels will find something to like too. Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite is a fun and accessible fighter that still has hidden depths to be mastered. It's good.

Going rather heavy on its convoluted, nutty storyline, Scarlet Nexus delivers on all fronts as far as its combat is concerned, with fast, flexible action that's always a joy. Bandai Namco's game is certainly bizarre, but it's also unique and well worth playing - it's the best Brain Punk game ever made.

Simply put, Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is a brutal, unforgiving and frustrating, but equally as exhilarating, enthralling and rewarding experience. It certainly is a game of two halves if ever there was one. On the one hand your heart will be racing throughout and you’ll be co-ordinating critical military manoeuvres in order to be successful, but then on the other hand you’ll be cursing the squad AI, the random glitchy deaths and the rest of its shortcomings.

a pleasant surprise and one that I’ll happily rope family and friends into playing. There are a few niggles, but the gameplay is immensely satisfying and the tracking spot on.

FIFA 21 isn’t going to blow anyone’s mind, but it improves upon last year’s game in almost every area, with an enhanced Career Mode proving to be the highlight. Even if it doesn’t offer much that’s new, it’s the best football game we’ve had in years, and a fitting send off to a generation of FIFA games on Xbox One.

A splendid RTS and one that provides plenty of enjoyment, especially if you can find a co-op partner to take along for the ride. This version is not quite as good as the PC equivalent but you won’t find many better on the 360.

A series, and a game, that seems to have lost a remarkable amount of lustre and just doesn't feel as interesting to play through as some of it's peers. The story is drab and drawn out, plus the tasks that litter the game are overly simplistic even for a kids title. LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 is still better than any number of kids titles and movie tie ins, but otherwise this is a major disappointment for fans of LEGO games and Potter alike, and just doesn't have that spark of magic that you would expect.

One of Rebellion's best games, Zombie Army 4: Dead War is a thrilling and utterly relentless jaunt that will see you blasting Nazi zombies for months on end.

EndWar is all about its voice command system. Fantastically implemented with very few flaws, but you kind of get the feeling that underneath it all, the game is very shallow and relies on that to set it free. Nevertheless, the voice command system is present and it's one of the best innovations and implementations in a game for some time and surely this could become a staple in future titles; both Clancy and otherwise.

Metro 2033 provides an immersive and bleak universe to explore, with excellent pacing and varied environments that keep the action fresh from beginning to end. We loved the HUD-free gameplay, but a bland narrative full of unmemorable characters, an inconsistent stealth system, and multiple smaller issues kept Metro from realizing its full potential.

There's a reason EA singled out Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit for the remaster treatment – it's still great. Throw in all the DLC, all of the features the original had, and a litany of impressive visual enhancements, and Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered is most definitely a racer worth returning to. And if it's your first time, well, lucky you.

Tropico 4 is a well-crafted update that is subtly better in almost every respect, including more helpful guidance to total newcomers and a steady stream of in-game mini-missions to keep things interesting. That pesky save bug makes an unwelcome return though and really should have been dealt with by now, but that aside you will be lost in a tropical paradise.

Darksiders: Genesis is a neat concept with a frankly bizarre execution. While the isometric viewpoint is cool during certain scenarios – namely Strife’s twin-stick shooter gameplay – everything else doesn’t really fit, especially the awful platforming. It’s not a bad game, it’s just not a very good one.

Expertly aping past glories, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania is a definitive compendium of remastered classics, stuffed to the gills with bonus modes, extra characters, and party games. It is, without question, the most fun you can have rolling a monkey in a ball around a maze - that is an empirical fact. You’d be bananas not to buy it.

Nobody Wants to Die is a fantastic, wonderfully cinematic sci-fi noir that's over all too soon. Its procedural detective work can be too procedural, but there's the kernel of something really great here.

South of Midnight is Compulsion's best game by a country mile, emerging as an assured and beautifully crafted Southern Gothic folktale that feels like a bracing breath of earthy, swampy air.

Another triumph for Twisted Pixel, The Gunstringer is not just a worthy addition to the stable of games for Kinect, it's quite possibly one of the best games you can buy for the device.